These Brands Are Getting the Most Love on Social Media

Social media, e-commerce and technology companies dominate the list of most-loved brands on social, according to a report from NetBase [download page]. The company scoured expressions of love in 361 million English-language posts of earned mentions across 200 countries over a year-long period to arrive at its list.

Before moving on, a quick note about methodology. NetBase only included mentions where “love is an insight for the brand, not just a keyword.” As an example, the firm “knows that ‘Man toyota trd trucks are beautiful’, shows love for Toyota, but ‘a beautiful bird just landed on my Toyota’ — does not.”

So who emerged at the front of the pack?

Instagram is the most loved by far, per the report, with its 246.6 million mentions including an expression of love blowing away the competition. YouTube (86.5 million mentions including an expression of love) was second, followed by Facebook (47.3 million), which dropped a couple of rankings from last year.

The other social platform that’s also growing closer to Facebook in daily consumption? Snapchat, the 8th-most loved brand on social media, per the NetBase report. Snapchat, however, dropped three rankings from last year, potentially due to the impact of its much-maligned redesign (which was later re-redesigned…).

Overall, social media brands accounted for just 5 of the top 100 most-loved, but an impressive 57% share of voice among the top 100.

Entertainment brands also punched above their weight class: there were 7 in the top 100, but they accounted for 10% share of voice. Likewise, the 8 tech brands in the top 100 comprised 11% of the mentions.

By contrast, while the Food & Beverage industry boasted the largest number of brands (15) in the top 100, they combined for just 3% of the positive mentions tracked.

Other Study Highlights

The report also contains several notable brand-specific findings, some of which follow.

The iPhone isn’t the most loved Apple product. Instead, the analysis found more expressions of love surrounding its music streaming service.

Likewise, expressions of love around Amazon were more likely to reference Amazon Music than any other Amazon product. As the analysts suggest “apparently the way to consumer’s hearts is through their ears,” which may also explain Spotify’s strong showing this year.

Uber emerged as the top transportation brand, despite a fall of 3 spots to #14. The analysis indicates that its new CEO has had a positive impact on the brand.